Event Coverage Road to Rumble! D/FW to RRR on Rt. 66 Road Trip!

By the time I reached Springfield, MO., the wagon was running pretty bad. I was pretty much having to slip it in neutral at every light just to keep it running. I decided to find a garage to get the problem diagnosed. I'm not going to bore you twice with the details since I gave an update on the thread earlier. As luck would have it, the garage was not but about three or four blocks from the famous Rail Haven Motel so I lucked out there.
Here's a shot of my room.





Also, this week in Springfield there was Studebaker meet going on, so when I rounded the corner to my room, this is what I saw waiting on me.























I like this speedometer pod on the wagon. I later was told that it's all done with mirrors.





I pretty much called it a night after the Studebaker shots. Day 4 of the trip came to an end. Stranded in Springfield.

 

Great thread as usual. Did the new motor show up yest ?

 

Should've worked out a deal with the Stude guys for an engine... would a Stude 289 fit a Ford?

 

The more I look at this thread, the more I get to love your little wagon!
Thanks for keeping us updated, and I hope you get the motor problems figured out soon.

 

do you reseach all the details of your stops before you go,or take notes along the way?either way i love your adventures

 

I wonder how much modification would be necessary to graft these taillights into a '57 Buick, hmm...

I love this thread, thanks for the updates, keep 'em coming!

 

The Rail Haven Motel is a stop all by itself. Last time I was there, you actually got a little trinket when you checked out.

I enjoy your trips as well, and hope the wagon is running soon!

Bill

 

Dang man - hope ya make it home soon................great coverage by the way. Thanks

 

Awesome!!

 

Glad you finally got the car figured out. Thanks for taking us along.

 

This is my favorite thread to check right now.

Great info and pics.

 

I have a couple of Route 66 research books that I brought along as well as using my Rt. 66 app. I highly recommend the Easy Guide for 66 Travelers by Jerry McClanahan and the Road Trip 66 app for those interested in doing Route 66 anytime soon.

 

Day 5 (Friday) began with me pretty much doing one of two things; catching up this thread or laying around watching television while waiting on word from the shop who was working on the wagon.



Luckily for me, just two doors down from my motel is George's, a restaurant that used to be a part of a chain of restaurants called George's Steakhouse that was created by George Lindsey, who played the character "Goober" on the Andy Griffith Show.



The first of what was to become many meals that I ate at George's was their pork chops.



About mid afternoon the call came. The wagon was ready. After paying for the work, I hopped in it and left. No, it still wasn't running right. After taking it back to them, the mechanic tried bumping the idle up to keep it from stalling at stoplights. From the point where it was decided to pull it back around to one of the bays, a rod started knocking.



Since it was too late on a Friday to have a new longblock delivered that day, it looked as though it will be Monday of the following week before things will start to happen on the wagon again. Back at the motel, I reassumed my position where Day 5 came to a close.

 

That wagon is sick!

 

Day 6 (Saturday) began with an early call from my ex-classmate, Barbara, who wanted me to do lunch with her and her husband, Tom, since he didn't get to meet me the first time around. It was a treat to see 'em both. Tom has a Studebaker Champion that he is working on.





After a long lunch with the two of them, it was back to the motel where I watched some Barrett/Jackson. That pretty much killed the rest of Day 6.

 

Sunday, Day 7, meant a trip back over to George's for lunch and their chicken fried steak.



Where I found my horoscope to be appropriate for the week.



Then it was back over to the motel and some more Barrett/Jackson. What a way to end Day 7 of the trip!

 

Feeling much like a teenager who had been grounded for the weekend, I grabbed my camera and walked the twenty blocks from my motel on Glenstone to the downtown square in Springfield Monday morning to start Day 8 of my adventure. I made it to the Steak & Shake just in time for lunch.





I only had a hamburger & fries.



(I'm going to thrown in here what the place looked like at night.)





Continuing towards downtown, there stood the Shriner's Mosque that was built in 1923.





About a block from the mosque I saw what was once an old Overland Motors dealership!





Practically next to the Overland dealership was the Sherman Williams building. It looked too cool to not have been something else besides a paint store.





I asked someone inside if they knew what the building was originally and he said that he didn't know for sure but thought that it used to be a car dealership. Back outside, that's when I noticed this emblem above the door. Any clues?

 

While still on my quest to reach the downtown area, I continued west on St. Louis St. where I came upon the old Gillioz Theater that was built in 1926.








(I later returned at night for some more shots.)

 

The middle of the town square is torn up due to renovating the area but, if you look close enough, you'll see a brass marker out in the street.



This marker marks the spot where, in David Tutt was shot and killed by "Wild Bill" Hickok (their spelling, not mine) over a gambling debt. The story goes that Wild Bill had lost a pocket watch to Tutt in a poker game and warned Tutt if he ever wore it in public that he would kill him. Tutt later wore it to taunt Hickok as a sign that Wild Bill couldn't pay his debts. That kinda pissed ol' Wild Bill off. Especially after warning Tutt. A gunfight persued with Tutt firing first. Bad ass Bill put a bullet through Tutt's heart from seventy-five yards away which was a pretty good feat. Thus was born the legend of Wild Bill Hickok. Two brass markers now indicate where each gunman stood today.



Where Hickok stood is on the other side of the square.

 

While still roaming the downtown Springfield square, over in the northeast corner stood the old Fox Theater. Originally open as the Electric Theater in 1916, after it burned in 1949, it reopened as the Fox Theater. There was a mural of the history of Springfield painted on one of it's inside walls.





Here's a vintage shot that I found of how it looked as the Electric Theater. It ceased operations as a theater in 1982 and is now a church.



Just off the square stands the old jail.

 

The art deco inlay on the entrance of an old downtown sore caught my eye. I couldn't come up with any info ol the old store. Possibly a lasies wear store. Cool graphics though.







Speaking of art deco, the outside lamps on the Woodruff Building screamed art deco.



Then there was this unusual "curb" art!

 

After exploring the downtown area and, rather than walking back the same way that I came, I took E. Walnut St. back toward my motel which was a good decision as it ended up being "silk stocking row" with it's many Victorian houses.





















I thought that it was cool that this house still had the old two concrete "rails" driveway with the grass in the middle. It's the only one I spotted on the street.



I considered this find to be perfect timing. This could have been the scene fifty years ago.





While this house still had the hitching post and carriage or buggy step out front.

 

When I made it back to Glenstone St., I walked back over the check on the wagon.











Where they had the old engine out.











Don't be deceived by tall valve covers. I was told where were rollers. I never had the covers off before.





As if on cue, while I was there, the new engine was delivered.

 

Once back at the motel, I thought I'd snap a few pictures of the place and that's when I spotted the Cutlass and Camaro parked in back.





Two fellows came out of their rooms as I was taking these pictures to unload more baggage. Ends up the Cutlass S belongs to Paul . . . . .





. . . . . and the Camaro belongs to Zane.





What's sweet about the Camaro is that it's a number's matching big block car.



Both Zane & Paul were traveling Route 66.

 

One of the reasons that I wanted to walk around the motel grounds to snap a few pictures was this old sign. It was used from 1965 to 1995. (Does that make it not HAMB friendly?)



Compared to this new sign being used today.



And another reason for snapping shots of the motel were these two Fords.





And the vintage gas pumps.





This is the original split rail fence from 1938 that gave the motel it's name, the Rail Haven.





This is how the Rail Haven looks at night.

 

Later that evening, I was invited to hang with a group from Norway who were traveling the Route that were staying at the motel. Tanya, who I had met on my first day here at the motel, was helping to host the group along with her father, Tommy Pyke.



Tommy, who is president of the Route 66 Association, and his wife, showed up in his '65 Barracuda.





As it ended up, some of the group went one direction, following the Pykes in their "Cuda and others of us walked over to George's. Afterward, one of the group leaders and I were given a night tour of Route 66 by Tanya who, as part of the tour, took us over to the Rest Haven Motel for a night view of their neon sign. Unfortunately, it wasn't fully lit as the golden animated arrow wasn't on. (If you see a resemblance of the old Holiday Inn sign, it's because it was copied from this sign and the one at the Munger Moss motel in Lebanon, MO., another iconic Route 66 motel.



Soon, after the tour of the remains of Route 66 at night, which allowed me to revisit some of the places I'd been earlier in the day, I was able to put Day 8, and myself, to rest.

 

your doing a great job,of making the best of a............situation.thanks for adventures

 

The beginning of Day 9 found me invited to ride back out to Gay Parita, which I found out was named after the original station owner's wife, with Tanya, who was supposed to act as the group's guide to that point. Since I was still stranded at the motel anyway, I took her up on her offer. Gay Parita is the photo op mecca and I didn't know if I'd taken enough photos on my first visit!
When I walked back down to the motel office to meet up with everyone, I saw a photo session for a magazine taking place with one of the motel's Fords in the parking lot.



Then it was back out to the Gay Parita station for a few more photos.









I went back in the old garage I case I'd missed something the first time.



It smelled of decades of old oil & grease.













Love the old refrigerator.



Gary surveys his domain.

 

The community where the Gay Parita station sits is known as Paris Springs Junction. When Route 66 bypassed Paris Springs by about a half mile, many of the businesses in town recognized an opportunity and moved out to the new highway.



This old stone garage might have handled some of the breakdowns along this section of the old road.



This old building in Paris Springs Junction once housed a gas station and grocery store. It's now a private residence.



When I went over to take a gander at the place, I saw someone working in back in his garden. Seems he retired from the railroad three years ago and now spends his time working in his garden. What a garden!

 

Tanya took me a little further down the road to Spencer before we turned around and headed back to Springfield. One of the things that I missed the first time through here a week earlier was this old altered.





Back in Springfield, Tanya introduced me to an Indian fry bread taco.





After eating, a trip was made back over to Daytona's to check on the wagon . . . . . . . .











. . . . . where they were getting close to stabbing the new engine in the wagon.